Threesomes usually are the stuff of cross-the-line personal ads. But for Pat and Dan Conway, co-owners of the Great Lakes Brewing Cleveland, Ohio, Company (GLBC), a three-way approach into running their operation is anything but risqué—or risky. At the microbrewery and restaurant the brothers opened in 1988, business is steady and strong because the Conways never take their eyes off what’s been dubbed the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit.

From vodka made from milk to liqueur crafted with poblano chiles, from classic Bourbon with 1,001 barrel options to American single malt whiskey aged in local oak, the spirits world is popping with unique options.

Añejo rums are smooth and luxurious. These aged rums have more in common with Cognac and Sherry than they do with their light rum, un-aged counterparts. They are elegant, sophisticated spirits best appreciated in a brandy snifter.

Is your restaurant missing out on opportunities to profit from beer? Far too many operations offer a narrow range of beers that barely differ in flavor. Yet quality beer ranges as widely in style and is as food friendly as wine.

Everyone has a favorite coffee shop in Manhattan. We each like to think ours is somehow better than everyone else’s, as if we would not be seen in any other spot. I doubt there is a single best coffee shop; there are too many great coffee places in New York (think Eddie Murphy grinning while showing off the “world’s best coffee” in Coming To America). That said Irving Farm is my favorite shop on the Upper West Side and the company from which I buy all of my coffee; it has become a second home to me.

Many spirits enthusiasts not only are embracing the classic brands and styles but also are seeking out new tastes, often presented in cocktails made from an ever-increasing and dazzling medley of ingredients. To capitalize on these trends, suppliers have concocted a genuinely innovative and exciting generation of original spirits.

At a handful of restaurant bars around the country, you’re likely to find the bartender in the kitchen—well before prime bar time—using a Vita-Prep or a Cryovac. He or she may be taring a laboratory scale to weigh out precise amounts of gelatin or xanthan. or maybe the bartender is rolling out a liquid-nitrogen tank to perform a spherification or clarification technique for a component of a libation in progress. What’s going on here?

If you are breaking into the bar business, you must recognize your weaknesses and seek expert advice. Hiring a professional bar consultant from the beginning can help your venue get off to a flying start and keep it soaring.

At its best, cocktail mixology is truly an art, engaging each of the human senses—for example, the feel of the proper weight of the glass and the thin rim, which delivers an elegant sensation to the lips; or the aromas of fresh mint and nutmeg, which transport the recipient of these scents to remote lands or memories of childhood. And just as sweet or pungent smells differ from each other by virtue of their different stimulation of the senses, so also do colors vary and evoke different emotions. A drink becomes impressive when it succeeds in touching the sensibility of the guest by finding the avenue to his or her brain and heart.

Despite an interest of specialty cocktails in restaurants, there are probably a few lonely bottles of timeless aperitifs on your backbar that haven’t been touched in months. That’s a shame, because Lillet, Pernod, Punt e Mes, Cynar, and fino Sherry are perfect before-dinner drinks, filled with classic flavors that inspire the taste buds for the meal ahead.

Choosing which rums to stock is similar to selecting candidates to fill a particular category on a wine list (e.g., Zinfandel). Like wine, rum is made in many different styles, with each well-made product possessing singular qualities and characteristics. A worthy goal is to develop a selection that will intrigue your clientele and adequately cover the spectrum of possibilities.

Each night you brace yourself for that moment of the evening when the pace of activity behind the bar shifts from a comfortable cruise-control to pedal-to-the- metal overdrive. In anticipation, you’ve prepped during the shift’s quiet time so you can deliver your best-selling cocktail with ease. But what quality of drink will you be serving?

Bars are often nickled and dimed into ruin, or considering today’s high prices, they’re quartered to death. And it happens with almost every flick of the wrist. The culprit is lax or nonexistent portion controls. A drink’s sales price is hinged to a specified portion of alcohol; if the amount of spirit fluctuates, the drink’s profit margin will waver as well.